UOB Malaysia Online banking users more than double in the last three years

e-Commerce Lowers Entry Barriers, Operating Cost for MSMEs
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry said e-Commerce has significantly lowered entry barriers and operating cost for businesses, particularly benefitting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Leading the Malaysian delegation to the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) of Economic Ministers (EMM7) and chairing the Plenary Session in Seoul recently, Second Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan said that e-Commerce had become increasingly a vital element of the global economy. “In a globalised world interconnected through information and communications technology, e-Commerce plays a key role, not only in domestic and cross-border trade, but also towards facilitating foreign investments through the supply of intermediary services,” he added. EMM7 was attended by economic and trade ministers and representatives from 21 Asian and 30 European countries, as well as the European Commission and ASEAN Secretariat. The meeting also saw the participation of the World Trade Organisation, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and the Asian Development Bank.

Pvivasia Eyes SMEs as e-Procurement Subscribers
Privasia Technology Bhd (PTB) is looking at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country to become subscribers of its e-procurement system. Group Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Puvanesan Subenthiran said the current e-procurement system in the country was too expensive for SMEs as they had to pay for licensing fees and infrastructure investment. “Some of the larger companies have to spend six months training their employees to use the system. “This is a reason why we changed our pricing architecture to offer the service to SMEs,” he told a media briefing after launching the Procurehere Version 7.0. Puvanesan said PTB’s previous e-procurement system had 300 suppliers and 15 clients, mostly conglomerates, involved in various sectors such as logistics, insurance and construction.

MITI Minister to Lead Trade Missions to Saudi Arabia, Turkey
Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, will lead a trade and investment missions to Saudi Arabia and Turkey this week. A Ministry statement said the mission would comprise 10 officials from the ministry and its agencies as well as 20 businessmen from 12 organisations. The missions would cover Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia as well as Istanbul in Turkey and are part of the government’s efforts to strengthen Malaysia’s economic bilateral relations with these countries. MITI said Datuk Seri Mustapa was scheduled to meet with his counterpart, the Minister of Commerce and Investment, as well as the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources and the Minister of Economy and Planning during his visit in Riyadh.

GMB Projects 5,000 Young Entrepreneurs To Join Congress From Roadshow
The Successful Young Entrepreneurs Generation Entrepreneurs Organisation (GMB) is projecting 5,000 young entrepreneurs from throughout the country to join the Congress GMB 2017, via the roadshows being conducted in every state. President Agil Faisal Ahmad Fadzil said the Congress GMB 2017 roadshow had started in Kelantan and is expected to end on 20 November. “For the roadshow this time, we will go to two places in the states and not necessarily just the capital. For example, in Terengganu, we will be in Dungun and probably Kuala Terengganu, while for Perak, the Larut District (Matang Selama) is the likely place.” “The roadshow will also see the participation of agencies under ministries such as the Halal Development Corporation, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and SME Corporation,” he told Bernama. “Through the Congress this time, GMB will also use the e-commerce approach in assisting entrepreneurs from secluded areas to take their products to a bigger market.

MIDF Research: Valuation of KL Construction Index set to rise
Valuation of KL Construction Index is set to climb higher as the price-to-earnings (PER) and price-to-book (PBR) start to converge again to reflect the intensifying news flow on the sector. MIDF Research said sectoral PER climbed to 22.9 times, which was closer to its 11-year average of 24.2 times. From PBR standpoint, the sector fetched only 1.26 times PBR below its mean of 1.36 times. Despite that, “writings on the wall” such as drop in infrastructure projects and uneven earnings for big caps and small-mid caps construction companies were ominous for the sector, albeit temporarily, said the research house in a note. MIDF Research maintained its positive stance on the local construction sector despite blips in its expectation as it believes financial year 2018 estimates beckon better results due to higher revenue recognition, coupled with catalysts of subcontracting packages from China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The research house said the policy of the Malaysian government opening its wide arm to the One Belt One Road Policy enabled China SOEs to participate freely in construction projects to improve its risk-reward profile.

UOB Malaysia Online banking users more than double in the last three years
United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) has seen a 106 per cent increase over the last three years in the number of customers using its online banking services. With the growing presence of and reliance on mobile phones and tablets, these customers are also making more online banking transactions. The number of online transactions, such as fund transfers and bill payments, rose by 133 per cent over the same period. According to data from UOB Malaysia, the number of online fund transfers and bill payments increased by 184 per cent and 90 per cent respectively from August 2014 to July 2017. The data also showed that in the first seven months of 2017, online fund transfers accounted for 59 per cent of all online financial transactions while bill payments made up another 12 per cent.

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